Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Price Of Playing Football...

Alex Karras, the former NFL All-Pro defensive tackle for the Detroit Lions who went on to a successful acting career with memorable roles as Mongo in Blazing Saddles and Emmanuel Lewis’s dad in the TV sitcom Webster, is near death, the Detroit News reports. Tom McInerney Sr. a longtime friend, told the newspaper Monday night that Karras suffered kidney failure recently and only has a few days to live. Karras is married to actress Susan Clark, his co-star from Webster. The newspaper reports Karras suffers from dementia and is part of a players' lawsuit against the NFL over concussion-related illnesses.
Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand released a statement Monday, saying, “The entire Detroit Lions family is deeply saddened to learn of the news regarding the condition of one of our all-time greats, Alex Karras. Perhaps no player in Lions history attained as much success and notoriety for what he did after his playing days as did Alex.” Lewand’s statement continued, “We know Alex first and foremost as one of the cornerstones to our Fearsome Foursome defensive line of the 1960s and also as one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play in the NFL. Many others across the country came to know Alex as an accomplished actor and as an announcer during the early years of Monday Night Football.”
“We join his legions of fans from both sports and entertainment in prayer and support for Alex, his wife Susan, and his entire family during this most difficult time,” the statement concluded.